In the Air Tonight
by Scarlettarose
Summary: {Adopted from Paranoixa} Katniss is hijacked, and despite Haymitch's claim, Peeta isn't fighting to save her, believing the rabid girl is no longer the one he once knew and loved. Unable to distinguish reality from corruption, Katniss struggles to find the Girl on Fire, and Peeta faces a decision that will not only effect him, but everyone in Panem.
1. (1) Katniss

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Hunger Games trilogy. It belongs to Suzanne Collins, and I don't get anything for doing this. I just enjoy putting the characters in different situations and messing with the outcomes and their futures.

 **Summary:** {Set at end of Catching Fire, going through Mockingjay} {Adopted from Paranoixa} Katniss is hijacked, and despite Haymitch's claim, Peeta isn't fighting to save her, believing the rabid girl is no longer the one he once knew and loved. Unable to distinguish reality from corruption, Katniss struggles to find the Girl on Fire, and Peeta faces a decision that will not only effect him, but everyone in Panem.

 **Author's note:** Hi, everyone. As some of you might already know, I have adopted (and received permission for) this story (same title) from Paranoixa. With her permission and occasional assistance, this story will be slightly different than her version. I will be adding chapters and such things between chapters while following the direction of where this story was originally headed.

Secondly, I am sorry for how late I am starting this. I know it was summer when the announcement was posted; however, I am a college student, so my schedule was busy, but now I'm no longer as busy and can play catch-up now. A thousand apologies for the long wait. I shan't keep you waiting much longer.

Now, as Paranoixa stated in the original first chapter, she left out how Peeta, Katniss, and everyone escaped in the arena. I will touch on it in this chapter and the next. She wanted to explore Peeta's **_dark side_** , and I will be doing that as well. It some of the main reasons why I took on this story. It's something I always wanted to explore, but couldn't find the time. Katniss is still highjacked, and I'll be exploring that, too.

Please let me know what you think! I plan to update every few weeks, so if there was something in the story you'd like me to elaborate or do differently, please let me know. I love feedback when it's given nicely. Also, this first chapter is very short, but the next chapter will be up by this Friday.

* * *

She wakes with a jolt, darkness surrounding her. The room is quiet, _too quiet_ , and it worries her.

 _Why?_

There was plenty of the two earlier. _Not too long go_ , she thinks. Showers of fiery sparks rained down from the heavens. Shouts and heavy feet thumped against the moist ground. It was almost like she was still there in the rainforest, her body still feeling too warm and needing water.

Katniss looks up where the sky should be, but there is nothing there. No sunlight or moon. Only darkness. Pitch black darkness. There's no sound of the force field retreating and sirens blaring. _Can I even hear? Where is everyone?_

She sits up with a gasp. "Peeta!" she yells out, looking around frantically for a signal, not comprehending. She claws at the ground, feeling cool marble instead of the moisture of the rainforest terrain. Then, she hears it.

Chains clink against the floor as she moves, and she is vaguely aware of the pain. Moving her hands, she feels the tops of her thighs and runs her hands down to her ankles, feeling the cool metal. She quickly touches both of her wrists, touching cool metal again. Her body freezes momentarily.

 _If I am here, where is Peeta?_ All she can remember seeing is him crashing down to the ground as she looked on from a distance. Can remember Finnick picking him up and tossing his limp body over his shoulder as he scanned the area with a conflicted expression. Can remember a shout . . . _Was it Johanna? . . ._ Can remember her eyes closing for the briefest of seconds and seeing a figure behind her. Can remember a cold hand wrapping around her arm before something sharp and hot piercing her skin. Can remember . . . Nothing.

"Peeta," Katniss whispers mournfully into the darkness. "Oh, Peeta." She brings her knees to her chest and tries to keep the horrid theories at bay, hoping Peeta and everyone is safe instead of being trapped like her.

 _My name is Katniss Everdeen. I am seventeen years old. I don't know where I am, and I don't know where Peeta is._ She clenches her eyes, trying to rid the dark thoughts and toss them away. _I have a little sister. Her name is Primrose Everdeen. I don't know where she is either._ Trying to steady her shaky hands, she redirects her train of thought. _I was in the Hunger Games. I survived the Hunger Games. I am alive. I am safe._

She lets out a shaky breath and feels her body start to relax. "I am alive," she whispers. "I am safe."

Then a bright light shines in the room. Katniss raises her head, seeing white everywhere.

"Miss Everdeen."

She jumps up and turns around. A calm looking man dressed in black watches her from a distance. _Capitol officer_ , she sneers in pure hatred. They are to blame; those who were involved with anything dealing with the Capitol. But she tells herself _don't think of them, think of your family_ and focuses on the cold shackles chaining her to the floor, seeing her wrists starting to look raw.

And the missing boy.

"Where is Peeta?" she asks, gathering up her strength to stare at the man.

He meets her gaze, unflinching and slightly challenging. "Miss Everdeen, please. We need you to answer some questions."

"Where's Peeta?" she repeats, the panic in her voice becoming clearer with each syllable.

"Perhaps if you would answer my questions, we could tell you where the boy is."

Panic rises in her as she worries for Peeta, her mother, Prim, Haymitch. Everyone she holds dear to her heart. She doesn't answer and focuses her attention on her shackles.

"Where are the rebels?"

 _Rebels? What rebels?_ If she asks, then she knows they'll do her harm, but if she remains quiet, then they might cause even more harm. She remembers the quiet rumors spreading across the Districts about past Victors.

"Where are the rebels?" he demands more forcefully this time, but she isn't listening.

Katniss grabs hold of the shackles at her ankles and tries to pull them apart so she can run. _Run far away. Escape._ She pulls and pulls, but the cold, black shackles are too strong for her. Feeling defeated, she falls to the ground and notices the officer is gone. _I'm alone,_ she thinks, and the thought sparks more hope.

She quickly pulls and tugs at the chains again. Hearing the sound of a door opening, she continues to break apart with more strength rising in her. Gray eyes grow wide, seeing the same guard with another one, a woman, walking toward her quickly.

The man grabs her, holding her still as she screams for help, and the woman takes one of her arms and rolls up her sleeve. The woman takes something out of her coat pocket and surveys her bare forearm.

Seeing the syringe and needle, Katniss frantically tries to pull her body away, but it's no use. The woman has an iron grip on her arm. She feels a tiny sting as the needle enters her arm, then warm fluid runs through her vein, making her body burn as the fluid enters her bloodstream.

Once the contents in the syringe is gone, the male guard releases his hold on her, causing her limp body to fall to the floor. Katniss watches the two walk away, then everything goes dark.


	2. (2) Katniss

**Author's note:** This second chapter is a bit different than what the previous author wrote in her version of this story. I would like everyone to know that the next few chapters will my new editions, allowing me to elaborate what happened to Katniss and what her experience is during her highjacking, and I will get into who else is there with her during the process instead of fast-forwarding to the two months Mockingjay takes place in.

Also, I will be naming the chapters 'Katniss' or 'Peeta' because right now the two characters are in different places, and I would like to touch on Peeta while Katniss is away. When/If Katniss is in District 13, then the chapters will have a different title. I've been writing stories in first person (and am about to start a new one), so I'd like to back away from that while still staying in the character's pov's. I hope this doesn't confuse any of you. If it does, please say so. I'll change it, if necessary.

* * *

She doesn't know how long she slept. Her joints still feel stiff, and when she turns her head to the right, there's a painful crook in her neck. Despite however much sleep she got, she still doesn't feel rested, and her body is on high alert, feeling as if something terrible is about to happen.

Trying to push the thought out of her head, she sits up and feels the soft cushion of the mattress sink underneath her hand. As she looks around the room, she sees a lamp resting on top of a small drawer, giving off a bright yellow glow. The walls around her are still the same shade of pure white, making her wonder if this is the same room she was in before but furnished. Looking down at her feet, she sees her ankles are no longer shackled, though there are light purple circles on her skin. She catches sight of a small silver-framed mirror hanging on the wall across from her. Her bare feet touch the cool marbled floor, causing her body to shiver, then she slips on the pair of flats next to the bed.

Katniss keeps her focus on the mirror as she walks closer to it, her reflection becoming clearer with each step. When she stops in front of it, she instantly sees the dark circles surrounding her eyes. There's a large green-purple bruise on her temple, and her lips are still chapped and cracked from her dehydration in the arena.

 _The light blue dress I'm wearing makes my skin look darke_ r, she thinks as and continues to observe herself. _Awful_. Her black hair is down and looking natural. _To make me look pretty._ The thought isn't pleasing. She decides to braid her hair, needing something more familiar, but when the braid is finished, there's no hair tie to be found. _This is starting to look more like a prison cell by the minute,_ she frowns. She undos her braid and combs her fingers through her hair.

As she turns away from the mirror, there's a knock on the door. Two male guards enter the room. Both of their faces are calm but unreadable. "Miss Everdeen, would you come with us? The president would like a word with you."

She watches them cautiously. Their gaze isn't challenging or deadly. _Maybe there's a way out of this after all_. "Fine," she says, and they approach her, taking her by the arms, and lead her out of her quarters.

They walk down a long, dark lit corridor, passing doors with numbers marked on them where other prisoners are likely being held. Guards run by them, and on one of their radios, Katniss can hear a female screaming while a guard yells for reinforcements. She looks over her shoulder, biting back a grunt, and watches the running guards. It causes her to shutter.

"Straight ahead, Miss Everdeen," one of the guards tells her, jerking her right arm violently.

She shifts her arm, as if to relieve the pain, but the guard keeps his forceful grip, hurting her more. They come to a sudden stop, then the door slides open.

"Right in there," the shorter guard says as both guards release her.

Gray eyes scan the room, seeing more white walls and empty room. Then, she smells it. The familiar stench of President Snow fills the room.

"Come in, Miss Everdeen," the president says. "I don't like to be kept waiting."

She enters the room and passes the small corner, seeing President Snow sitting at a dark wooden table. "President Snow," Katniss greets, keeping her voice cool. She sits in the empty chair across from him, and the overpowering smell of blood causes her nose to crinkle.

"Well, I must say it is a pleasure to see you again."

"Where's Peeta? The others," she asks with no hesitation.

"Why don't you tell me."

"I don't know."

"Don't lie." President Snow nearly snaps, and the atmosphere suddenly feels too familiar, like the way it did the day of the Victory Tour.

"It's not a lie."

"We'll see about that."

"Where is he?"

"Well, I can assure you he's not here."

 _Now look who's lying. Or is he?_ She frowns. "The arena is a blur to me. I don't remember-"

"Your useless facade can only last so long, Miss Everdeen. Soon enough you will tell me. Better it be sooner than later. The consequences will be highly severe."

"What is it you want with me?" she demands, her fists clenching in anger underneath the table.

He smiles and shakes his head. "You have become part of a cause that is far greater than yourself." President Snow leans closer to her, his eyes sharp and serious. "You are the face of the rebellion. Whether you admit to that or not, it is no longer my concern."

"But-"

"Even if what you say is true that you have no knowledge of this rebellion, the fact remains that you have the power to sway the entire nation of Panem."

"What do you need me to do?" she asks, though she's always failed.

"I want _you_ to send a message to the rebels."

 _Rebels_. _There's that word again._ "What kind of message?" she asks, unsure of what he means.

"A message that shows the Mockingjay is no more. She no longer represents a symbol of hope but of despair instead."

"Then why don't you just kill me?" It's not the first time she's asked, and it won't be the last.

"I don't want to kill you. I've told you so before. No." He smiles like a serpent. "What I'm going to do will be far better-far worse-than that."

Katniss swallows hard, trying to maintain her composure, but her panic has won over. "What do you mean?" She catches his fingers making a small gesture on the center of the table, then she hears the door open and footsteps heading her way.

A different guard, carrying a silver tray, approaches the table.

"Tell me, Miss Everdeen," President Snow pauses briefly, acknowledging the guard, then he turns his gaze back on Katniss. "How do you keep a fire from spreading?"

"I-" Her gray eyes catch sight of a long, thin needle with amber liquid in the syringe. "I don't know."

"With more fire," the president nearly sneers as a guard takes hold of Katniss' arms, forcing her up out of her chair.

"Let me go!" Katniss yells, but they don't stop. Tears sting her eyes as the rumors start to flood her head with what happens to Victors who rebel. A burning sensation runs through her veins. The amber liquid suddenly makes her feel cagey, making her want to crawl out of her own skin. Anger and irritation override her system, and the last thing she hears is an all too familiar laugh, sounding a lot like a boy she used to know.


End file.
